Synagogue Tours
Israel Travel Advisory Service’s (ITAS) fully customizable Israel Syngogue Tours offer an amazing educational and spiritual experience for your community. Let ITAS create the perfect program led by your rabbi or congregational leader that will impact participants for a lifetime. Choose your departure dates, hotel accommodations, sites, length of tour and more. ITAS will work hand in hand to develop a tour that not only suits your group’s needs but that will also exceed your group’s expectations. Your visit to Israel with ITAS will be one of the most memorable trips you’ve ever had.
Journey Through Israel’s History & Heritage
Visit some of the most notable places in Israel, including Hadassah Synagogue, Independence Hall, Tower of David, Western Wall, Jerusalem, walking tour of the Old City, the Rabbinical Tunnel, Rosh HaNikra, Bahai Gardens, Yad Vashem, Masada, Qumran, Ein Gedi, the Israel Museum and much more.
Day 1
USA / TEL AVIV
Flight to Israel.
Day 2
ARRIVAL / TEL AVIV
Arrive at Ben Gurion airport. Meet your guide and driver and drive to your hotel in Tel Aviv. Get together dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Hotel in Tel Aviv.
Day 3
REHOVOT / JAFFA / TEL AVIV
Visit ancient Jaffa where Jonah began his adventure with the whale. Take a short walk along the restored town. Enjoy an overview of Tel Aviv and its narrow byways filled with artist galleries and cosmopolitan shops. Drive to Rehovot and visit the Ayalon Institute(bullet factory). Return to Tel Aviv and visit Independence Hall where the state of Israel was declared by David Ben Gurion in May 1948. You will also have an opportunity to visit in the afternoon the famous Carmel Market and Nachalat Binyamin, the arts and craft market. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Hotel in Tel Aviv.
Day 4
CAESAREA / ACRE / ROSH HANIKRA / TEL AVIV
Depart Tel Aviv and drive along the Sharon Plains to Caesarea. Explore the Roman Theater and the aqueduct. Proceed to Haifa. Ascend Mount Carmel; appreciate the spectacular view of the coastline and the magnificent terraced gardens of the Bahai Center. Continue along the Mediterranean shore to Acre, a former Crusader stronghold. Roam through the remains including the knights’ center and dining hall . End the day with a visit to Rosh HaNikra for a cable car ride to the beautiful grottos. Drive to Tiberias. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Hotel in Tiberias.
Day 5
GOLAN HEIGHTS / GALILEE
This morning visit Safed, home to the Kabbala. This charming town with cobblestone streets, lined with ancient synagogues and artist galleries, offers breathtaking views of the entire Galilee. Then, you’ll explore the geo-politically vital Golan Heights by jeep! While in the Golan Height visit one of Israel’s famous wineries where you will have an opportunity to taste the wine and the Oil Factory. End this special day with our special Kibbutz Home Hospitality, sharing conversation and dinner with the kibbutz members. Overnight: Hotel in Tiberias.
Day 6
BEIT ALPHA / SACHNE / JERUSALEM
Today depart Tiberias and drive along the Jordan Valley to Beit Alpha; see an exquisite mosaic floor in an ancient synagogue set in a pomegranate orchard. Visit Gan Hashlosha Park Reserve; swim or simply relax enjoying the green surroundings. Drive up to Jerusalem, the Holy City. Upon entering Jerusalem, honor your religious heritage reciting the “Shehecheyanu” blessing. After dressing for Shabbat, visit the Western Wall & welcome the Shabbat. Visit Reform congregation with Rabbi Gold including home hospitality and Shabbat Dinner. Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem.
Day 7
JERUSALEM
Morning at leisure. In the afternoon enjoy a walking day to the Old City. The tour enters via the Jaffa Gate & winds through the narrow cobblestone alleys of the Christian, Moslem & Armenian Quarters. See part of the Via Dolorosa, the “way of sorrows”, on your way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. End the walk at the Tower of David, where the Museum of the History of Jerusalem beautifully explains the 3000-year story of the city. Watch the Light and Sound Show. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem.
DAY 8
JERUSALEM
From the top of Mount Scopus, enjoy your first panoramic overview of Jerusalem. You will enter the Old City via the Zion Gate; walk through the restored Jewish Quarter, passing the excavated Roman Cardo. Visit the Rabbinical Tunnel, the Davidson Center(Southern Wall excavations) and the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). In the afternoon, drive to the western side of the city and stop at the Menorah, located next to the Knesset. Continue to Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust, for a Yizkor service & visit to the majestic Children’s Pavilion & the brand new Museum. We’ll end our visit at the Valley of Destroyed Communities. End the day with a visit to the Israel Museum; visit the Shrine of the Book, housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, and stroll through the magnificent Billy Rose Sculpture Garden. Take time to view the inner dynamics of this unique location. Visit the Scale Model of Jerusalem in its new location and see the replica of Jerusalem during the 2nd Temple period. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem.
DAY 9
MASADA / DEAD SEA / JERUSALEM
Travel through the Judean Wilderness along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada. Ascend Masada by cable car to view the excavations of the Herodian palace, storerooms, bathhouse and waterworks. Stop at one of the Dead Sea hotels for lunch and the opportunity to enjoy the unique sensation of a “float” in the unsinkable Dead Sea. Continue your Dead Sea adventure with a visit to Ein Gedi, the oasis of the Judean desert. Take a short hike to the waterfalls. On the way back, pass the caves of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem.
DAY 10
JERUSALEM / TEL MARESHA
Start the day with a visit to Leket and Yad Lakashish. Then, visit Hadassah hospital synagogue to view the famed Chagall’s stained glass windows. Depart Jerusalem and drive through the Ayalon Valley to Tel Maresha where you will have time to get “down and dirty,” as you participate in the archeological dig. Return to Jerusalem and stop at the Menorah, located next to the Knesset. Farewell dinner. Overnight: Hotel in Jerusalem.
DAY 11
TEL AVIV / HOME
Transfer to the airport for your flight home. Return home filled with a treasury of memories for a lifetime!
